ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Metro Manila devider Muntinlupa City Council majority floor leader says Biazon's conviction not yet final

Muntinlupa City Council majority floor leader says Biazon's conviction not yet final

Published Jun 3, 2025 02:51 pm

At A Glance

  • Councilor and lawyer Raul Corro cited past legal cases, including those involving former Muntinlupa mayor Ignacio Bunye, former vice mayor Jaime Fresnedi and councilors, who were initially found guilty by the Sandiganbayan over the Alabang Public Market issue but later acquitted by the Supreme Court.
Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon (Photo from Muntinlupa PIO)
Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon (Photo from Muntinlupa PIO)

The majority floor leader of the Muntinlupa City Council said the conviction of Mayor Ruffy Biazon for graft is not yet final. 

Councilor and lawyer Raul Corro, a former chief of the Legal Office of the Muntinlupa City government, emphasized that legal proceedings are still ongoing.

“Hindi pa po final ang hatol sa kaso at maghahain pa ng Motion for Reconsideration sa Sandiganbayan at kung ito ay hindi mapagbigyan, sigurado aakyat pa ito sa Supreme Court na s'yang magbibigay ng final decision sa kaso. Samantala, tuloy ang pagiging pinuno ng lungsod at mananatiling  Mayor  si  G. Ruffy Biazon habang dinidinig ang kaso (The verdict in the case is not yet final and a Motion for Reconsideration will be filed with the Sandiganbayan, and if denied, it will surely be elevated to the Supreme Court, which will give the final decision on the case. Meanwhile, Mr. Ruffy Biazon will continue as the city's leader and remain Mayor while the case is being heard).” 

The Sandiganbayan’s Special Seventh Division found Biazon and others guilty of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 (The Anti-Graft And Corrupt Practices Act). 

“In Criminal Case No. SB-16-CRM-0249, the court finds accused Rozzano Rufino B. Biazon, Dennis L. Cunanan, Maria Rosalinda M. Lacsamana,Evelyn D.De Leon, and Janet Lim Napoles guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of violation of Section 3(e)ofR.A. No.3019, as amended,and are hereby sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of imprisonment for a minimum period of six years and one month and a maximum period of eight years, and to suffer perpetual disqualification from holding public office,” the Sandiganbayan ruled. 

Councilor Raul Corro (Photo from Corro's Facebook account)
Councilor Raul Corro (Photo from Corro's Facebook account)

The case stemmed from a project in 2007 that Biazon implemented when he was still the congressman of Muntinlupa. 

“Batid natin na bilang public officials, kasama ang mga kaso na pwedeng ihain ng sinuman laban sa mga government officials sa pagtupad ng kanilang tungkulin. Bahagi ito ng ating sistema. Bahagi ito ng buhay ng pagiging public servant (We know that as public officials, cases can be filed by anyone against government officials in the performance of their duties. This is part of our system. This is part of the life of being a public servant),” said Corro. 

He cautioned against premature conclusions.

“Subalit, hanggat hindi pa nahahatulan ng pinal ang kaso, huwag natin pangunahan ang judge. Huwag muna tayo maging judgmental.  Huwag tayo gumawa ng sariling conclusion na parang tayo na ang judge sa kaso, lalo na pagdating sa mga usaping legal (However, until the case is finally decided, let's not lead the judge.Let's not be judgmental. Let's not make our own conclusions as if we are the judge in the case -- especially in legal matters).”

Corro cited past legal cases, including those involving former Muntinlupa mayor Ignacio Bunye, former vice mayor Jaime Fresnedi and councilors, who were initially found guilty by the Sandiganbayan over the Alabang Public Market issue but later acquitted by the Supreme Court. 

“Lahat naman tayo ay may kanya-kanyang opinion at ang opinion kahit na batay sa maling impormasyon ay opinion pa rin kahit mali. Sa panahon ngayon ng social media na napakadaling magbigay ng opinion sa anumang bagay na nababasa o nakikita natin, marahil ang tamang attitude ay pag-aralan muna ang isyu at alamin ang mga facts o  i-verify mabuti ang impormasyon na nasasagap (We all have our own opinions, and opinions, even if they are based on false information, are still opinions. In today's era of social media, it is very easy to give opinions based on what we read or see. The right attitude maybe is to first study the issue, find the facts, and carefully verify information),” he said. 

Corro reminded people that it is common nowadays to see and read fake news as well as false or misleading information. 

“Mahirap gumawa ng mabilis na opinion o komento batay lamang sa news report na hindi naman naipapaliwanag ang kabuuan ng kaso (It is difficult to make quick opinions or comments based only on news reports that do not explain the whole case),” he said.

Related Tags

Muntinlupa metronews
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.